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LEFT TURN/RIGHT TURN
Mountain Views News Saturday, March 10, 2012
HOWARD Hays As I See It
“I thought this election
was going to all be about
the economy, but the
economy started doing
better, so Republicans
went to Plan B - calling
women whores.”
- Bill Maher
The economy
is improving and
consumer confidence is growing. An A.P.
survey shows economists predicting faster
growth than they did two months ago, with
unemployment expected to drop to 8% by
Election Day. Consumer confidence is at a
four-year high. The Hill reports influential
Republicans are recommending a focus on
Congressional races as prospects for the
White House dim.
Accepting the futility of debating the
issues, Republican operatives resort to tactics
they’ve relied on in the past.
One is voter suppression. In 2000, Florida
scrubbed black-sounding names from
voter rolls and had state troopers manning
roadblocks leading to minority community
polling places. In 2004, Ohio Secretary
of State Ken Blackwell said he’d go to jail
rather than comply with an order to provide
provisional ballots to those requesting them.
Republicans created the myth of “voter
fraud” to rationalize I.D. requirements
affecting students, the elderly and the poor.
In Tennessee, Dorothy Cooper was denied
a voter I.D. because she couldn’t produce a
marriage certificate. As a black woman, she
said she’d never before had problems voting,
even in decades prior to the 1964 Voting
Rights Act. (Ms. Cooper is 96.)
Under new Ohio laws, WWII veteran
Paul Carroll, 86, was denied a ballot because
his Dept of Veterans Affairs photo ID didn’t
include an address. “I went to war for this
country, but now I can’t vote in this country.”
Another tactic is diverting attention by
inventing threats – coming from hippies and
“Harvard intellectuals”, “Welfare queens” and
Latino immigrants, gays, gun-confiscators,
the godless and “union thugs”. And when all
else fails, the fall-back tactic is to make stuff
up.
Today, the threat comes from women
– those Rush Limbaugh describes as
“overeducated”. The made-up stuff was
repeated by Bill O’Reilly for the Fox camera:
“You want me to give you my hard-earned
money so you can have sex?” (O’Reilly
supports insurance coverage for Viagra.)
This isn’t about sex or taxpayer money.
It’s about a chain of events begun when
Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) convened his
House Oversight Committee to consider a
ruling from the Dept. of Health and Human
Services that contraception be included
under preventive care offered by private
insurance companies.
This isn’t about science or women’s health.
At a hearing of the Energy and Commerce
Committee, HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius
referred to “scientists and doctors” when
Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA) cut her off and set
her straight: “Ma’am, we’re not talking about
scientists here, we’re talking about religious
belief.”
Allowing employers at church-owned
establishments to opt-out of providing
certain coverage was not enough. Sen. Roy
Blunt (R-MO) proposed an amendment
that would allow any employer to refuse
to provide any coverage for any service for
any “moral reason”; whether that service is
HIV/AIDS testing, prenatal care for single
women, or vaccinations for children.
The Blunt Amendment failed on a 51-48
vote. Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) provided
the only Republican vote against it, and
then announced her retirement. Sen. Lisa
Murkowski (R-AK) told the Anchorage Daily
News, “I have never had a vote I’ve taken
where I have felt that I let down more people
that believed in me.” She explained that
what began as an issue of “religious freedom”
regressed into a battle over contraception.
“The wind had shifted, and Republicans
didn’t have enough sense to get off of it”.
Rep. Issa refused to allow testimony from a
third-year Georgetown law student, deeming
her “not appropriate or qualified”. At a
separate hearing called by House Minority
Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Sandra Fluke
told of a fellow law student who was denied
coverage for prescribed contraception
to treat polycystic ovary syndrome. A
subsequent operation led to removal of
an ovary, risking early menopause which
would render her permanently incapable of
becoming pregnant. Another was denied
contraception to treat endometriosis,
because existence of the condition could not
be confirmed without surgery.
Fluke explained that although Georgetown
has an exception for medical necessity,
“when you let university administrators or
other employers, rather than women and
their doctors, dictate whose medical needs
are legitimate and whose are not, women’s
health takes a back seat to a bureaucracy
focused on policing her body.”
Rush Limbaugh had his own take: “She
wants to be paid to have sex. She’s having so
much sex she can’t afford the contraception.
She wants you and me and the taxpayers to
pay her to have sex.”
Fluke responded, “. . . this is historically
the kind of language that is used to silence
women, especially when women stand up
and say that these are their reproductive
health care needs.”
House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH)
termed the language “inappropriate”. George
Will responded to Boehner’s response,
“Using the salad fork for your entrée, that’s
inappropriate. Not this stuff . . . what it
indicates is that the Republican leaders are
afraid of Rush Limbaugh. They want to bomb
Iran, but they’re afraid of Rush Limbaugh.”
As one of dozens of advertisers severing
their relationship with Limbaugh, Carbonite
CEO David Friend issued a statement, “No
one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke,
and I have two, could possibly abide the insult
and abuse heaped upon this courageous and
well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh,
with his highly personal attacks on Miss
Fluke, overstepped any reasonable bounds of
decency.”
As another father thinking of his two
daughters, President Obama called Fluke to
offer his support.
“I thought about Malia and Sasha, and
one of the things I want them to do as they get
older is to engage in issues they care about . . .”
As for the coming election, “Women will
make up their own mind”. But as the other
side relies on name-calling, voter suppression,
invented threats and simply making stuff
up, they’ll agree with the president that
“Democrats have a better story to tell women.”
IT’S ABOUT OUR FREEDOM
Last week, I offered 7 specific issues on which all
of the Republican candidates could agree. Even
in the micro, there is amazing continuity in the
conservative’s sometimes squabbling camp. But
let’s step back a bit further and look at the macro
issue that will most likely decide this election.
To borrow a phrase, originated by Clinton
strategist, James Carville, to explain the main
driver of the 1992 election, “it’s about freedom,
stupid”.
The Republican candidate who really gets this
is Rick Santorum. Say what you may about
him, but he understands the big picture in this
election. If you listen to any of his campaign
speeches – rather than the caricature of them so
often reported in the press- he doesn’t take long
to start talking about the freedoms we’re losing
under President Obama and those that will
disappear should he win re-election.
The list starts with regulation and the typical
over-reach characteristic of so many government
bureaucrats. Business people in the audience can
always give ample personal anecdotes about the
vast increase in regs with which they have to deal
just to stay in business – let alone to open a new
plant, launch a new product or hire more people.
But the rubber really meets the road when the
topic turns to Obamacare.
It is in Obama’s one signature legislative
accomplishment, and the interpretations of
the bill which are being released almost daily,
that Americans can most clearly see the vision
of increased government control and reduced
personal freedoms which is reflexive in the
character and personality of this president and
all his followers.
It has almost become an overworked argument
that Obamacare is going to interrupt the
normal personal relationship between doctor
and patient. Nonetheless it’s true! In addition,
though, Obamacare is going to create a culture
of dependence in this country that we can’t
even imagine. If fully implemented, every
single American will become dependent on
government. One way or the other, every
American will have to rely on the government
to pay their medical bill and thus define what
procedures they can have.
Of even
greater concern should
be the restrictions that
Obama seeks to impose
on arguably our most
primary and important
freedom – the freedom
to practice religion as
each of us interprets our
own sacred scriptures.
Last month’s dust-
up over Obamacare
requirements that the
Catholic Church pay for contraception and
abortion-inducing drugs could have been
written off as the missteps of a naïve and over
zealous underling. That is except for the fact
that Obama himself reiterated to the Catholic
Bishops last Friday that no loosening of the
mandate’s exemptions would be allowed.
As Cardinal Timothy Dolan wrote in his open
letter on religious freedom, “we have made it
clear in no uncertain terms to the government
that we are not at peace with its invasive attempt
to curtail religious freedom” and its attempt “to
define what constitutes ministry and how it can
be exercised”. It’s a pity that the leaders of other
faiths and denominations have not signed on to
this letter, vocally supported it, or penned their
own version.
Can they really be so clueless as to not remember
the lessons of the past. Those who seek to curtail
the individual freedoms of their citizenry always
start with the sub group who they believe is least
in favor with the public. Then they move on to
other groups until the whole of a population has
been brought to heel. To put it in simpler terms,
power given to government when Liberals are in
power remains power given to government when
Conservatives are in power. All Americans
– liberal or conservative, religious or secular -
should understand what’s disappearing right
before our eyes. It’s our freedoms.
Gregory J. Welborn is an independent opinion
columnist. He writes and speaks frequently on
political, economic and social issues. His columns
have appeared in publications such as The Los
Angeles Daily News, The Orange County Register,
The Wall Street Journal and USA Today. He can be
reached at gwelborn@mtnviewsnews.com.
The controversy over
talk show king Rush
Limbaugh’s sexually-
insulting and innuendo-
filled three day rant against
Georgetown University
law student Sandra
Fluke for her advocacy
of health plan coverage
for contraceptives
was….no fluke.
Limbaugh is the 21st
century’s most powerful talk show host. He
spawned Rush wannabes on local talk radio
stations who can’t duplicate Limbaugh’s success
since they don’t have his broadcasting smarts
and talent. He became the Republican Party’s de
facto strategist after Senator John McCain’s 2008
Presidential defeat, and the GOP has increasingly
merged its brand into his.
Now, as Limbaugh loses sponsors and some
radio stations, the GOP brand is likely to take a
hit with women voters due to its leaders’ timidity
in denouncing Limbaugh’s abusive and creepy
comments about Fluke. Conservative columnist
George Will flatly said: “Republican leaders are
afraid of Rush Limbaugh. They want to bomb
Iran, but they’re afraid of Rush Limbaugh.”
It was always perilous for a political party to be so
closely linked to a talk show host. Political parties
must aggregate interests and build coalitions. Talk
show hosts must saw off a specific demographic
and deliver it to advertisers. These two goals
don’t necessarily converge. But Limbaugh
wasn’t always a demonizer and polarizer.
When he went national in 1988, Limbaugh
was truly funny. He sparked one controversy
by talking about women “farding (putting on
makeup) in cars.” He blasted then President
George H. W. Bush, but once Bush invited
him to sleep over in the Lincoln Bedroom,
Limbaugh turned more supportive and serious.
His show evolved into the Republican Party’s
most important town hall where Limbaugh’s
partisan perspective is heard and later repeated
by listeners at dinner tables and on conservative
weblogs. He successfully pushes hot buttons to
motivate the GOP’s base to get out and vote.
Limbaugh’s defenders liken what he did to
Fluke with liberal talker Ed Shultz calling
conservative Laura Ingraham a “bitch” in
May. It’s a phony comparison. Schultz gave
an unconditional apology, called Ingraham
to apologize and took time off without pay,
then moved totally on. After the first day’s
controversy, Limbaugh continued and escalated
it for two more days. It was like he was saying,
“I can say whatever I want any way I want and
you can’t stop me!” He faced no consequences
-- until some advertisers started to flee.
Limbaugh’s first apology on his website
seemed somewhat conditional. And once he
got on the air again it continued to seem that
way. He suggested the controversy was only
over “two words.” (It was over more than
that). And he said he erred by descending
to the left’s level. (The left made him do it.)
In the space of a week Limbaugh went from being
a de facto symbol of the 2012 Republican Party to
being pointed to by critics as the embodiment of the
late 20th century’s phrase: “male chauvinist pig.”
Loyal conservative bloggers vilified Fluke by
making suggestions about her sex life that will
make some libel lawyer drool. Some bloggers are
scrambling to find things to discredit her, but
any findings can’t negate Limbaugh’s three-day
attack. Others are blasting companies that pulled
ads from Limbaugh, trying to discredit them.
Limbaugh committed the same sin as the late
Senator Joseph McCarthy of not knowing when
to stop. Joseph Welch had this line that many
feel deflated McCarthy: “You’ve done enough.
Have you no sense of decency?” In Limbaugh’s
case, the key quote came from Carbonite’s
CEO David Friend in announcing that his
company would pull ads from Limbaugh’s show:
“No one with daughters the age of Sandra Fluke,
and I have two, could possibly abide the insult
and abuse heaped upon this courageous and
well-intentioned young lady. Mr. Limbaugh,
with his highly personal attacks on Miss Fluke,
overstepped any reasonable bounds of decency.
Even though Mr. Limbaugh has now issued
an apology, we have nonetheless decided to
withdraw our advertising from his show. We hope
that our action, along with other advertisers who
have already withdrawn their ads, will ultimately
contribute to a more civilized public discourse.”
Mr. Friend, may I use the word? Ditto…
Joe Gandelman is a veteran journalist who wrote for
newspapers overseas and in the United States. He has
appeared on cable news show political panels and is
Editor-in-Chief of The Moderate Voice, an Internet hub
for independents, centrists and moderates.
RUSH’S FLUKE CONTROVERSY
WAS NO FLUKE
Independent’s Eye by
JOE Gandelman
BUSINESS TODAY
The latest on Business News, Trends and Techniques
By La Quetta M. Shamblee,
WOMEN & BUSINESS
OWNERSHIP
Business ownership remains as one of the most
viable options for women to achieve economic
and professional equality in the U.S. Despite
decades of gains across a wide landscape of
industries and occupations, the masses of
gender-majority women in the U.S. are clearly in
the gender-minority when it comes to the highest
paid and most prestigious positions in corporate
America. Although women comprise 46.7% of the
workforce and almost 52% work in management
or professional positions, the following statistics
describe the Fortune 500 business environment
for women. (www.catalyst.org, March 2012)
Women account for:
• 14.1% of all high-level executive positions
• 16.1% of all board seats
• 7.5% of top earners
• 3.4% of CEO’s
This may explain why more women than ever
are deciding that its time to strike out on their
own as entrepreneurs. For those who aspire
to create their own statistics, the U.S. Small
Business Administration’s Office of Women’s
Business Ownership (OWBO) is a great resource.
Established by a federal executive order in 1979,
the OWBO provides a variety of services and
referrals through a network of Women’s Business
Centers (WBC) located throughout the United
States and its territories.
Each WBC offers comprehensive training and
counseling on a variety of topics, with services
tailored to the needs of the respective community.
The program offers services in four main areas:
Training and Counseling, Financial Resources,
Federal Market Opportunities and Local SBA
Resources.
Training is offered in marketing, finance,
management, the use of the internet for business
and other areas. The WBC is a point of access
to learn about all the SBA’s program for loans
programs and to get information and assistance
with getting contracts to provide goods and
services to the federal government. This is
of paramount importance since the federal
government has a goal of expanding business
opportunities to have a minimum of 5% of all
contracts with women-owned businesses.
The survival rate for businesses that have received
assistance from WBC’s is substantially higher
than that for businesses that launch and operate
without this type of support.
Visit the SBA’s WBC homepage at: http://www.
sba.gov/about-offices-content/1/2895
WBC’s are located in most U.S. states, and there
are three in the Greater LA area, including
two in the City of Los Angeles and one in San
Bernadino. Contact info is provided below. Visit
their websites to review their offering of programs
and schedules for upcoming events.
Inland Empire Women’s Business Center at
The Foundation for Cal State University San
Bernardino. Phone: 909-890-1242 - Website:
www.iewbc.org
Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program
WBC. Phone: 213-473-1605 Website: http://
www.apisbp.org/wbc.html
PACE Women’s Business Center. Pacific Asian
Consortium Employment. Phone: 213-353-
9400 Website: http://www.pacelabdc.org/
Womens_Business_Center.php